Mzalendo Trust

Mission and vision

Mzalendo keeps an eye on the Kenyan Parliament with a mission to facilitate public participation in Parliamentary processes through information-sharing, research and networking. Our vision is to see informed, empowered and engaged citizens transforming society by holding their leaders to account.

General description of the CSO work in the anti-corruption area

Mzalendo makes accessible to the public corruption reports on matters overseen by Parliamentarians. In collaboration with other CSOs, we have researched and spoken out on questions relating to the transparency of the political class. Mzalendo has not had an exclusive anti-corruption initiative, however in the 12th Parliament we plan to start scrutinising committee work, MP plenary and committee attendance and CDF reports as a means to check corruption linked to these. The work will be done by citizen reporters. Civil society collaborations will be sought to leverage on their expertise. Our target population is the general public especially Kenyans online.

Specific description of the CSO work in relation to the UNCAC

We have collaborated with other Kenyan Civil Society organisations to:

conduct a baseline survey on the implementation of national values in four Kenyan County Governments. The Kenyan Constitution lists 16 national values – patriotism, national unity, sharing and devolution of power, the rule of law, democracy and public participation, human dignity, equity, social justice, inclusiveness, equality, human rights, non-discrimination and protection of the marginalised, good governance, integrity, transparency and accountability and sustainable development.

lobby for an access to information law which was finally enacted in 2016 after an over 20-year wait.

organise the national anti-corruption week of action as part of the Anti-Corruption Day 2016 celebrations. The group of CSOs held public forums and a street caravan and produced a publication on #100waysthecorruptdefeatjustice. We also published the anti-corruption scorecard for the Jubilee Administration.

Anti-Corruption Events in your region in 2017

Mzalendo is likely to participate in anti-corruption events in Kenya in 2017 especially those relevant to integrity of candidates vying for elections and scrutinising the national budget.

Civil Society Team at UNODC

The Civil Society Team at UNODC and the UNCAC Coalition have a Memorandum of Understanding to work together on the ratification, implementation and monitoring of the UNCAC. UNODC and the UNCAC Coalition are separate organizations with governance independence.